When Nazi forces raided Poland in 1939, Kristal, his wife Chaja Feige Frucht and their two children were relocated to the Lodz ghetto, where the two children died.

In 1944, he and his wife were sent to Auschwitz. Frucht was killed but Kristal survived and was freed by Allied forces in May 1945.

Kristal experienced considerable turbulence in his life aside from World War II, but his longevity gave him an unusual opportunity to do some catching-up.

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Because of the recent death of his mother, and his father’s obligation to the Russian army during World War I, Kristal was unable to celebrate his bar mitzvah at the age of 13 in accordance with Jewish custom — but in September 2016, Kristal finally got the chance to celebrate it at the age of 113.

When asked the secret of living a long life, Kristal admitted he did not know the answer.

“I don’t know the secret for long life. I believe that everything is determined from above and we shall never know the reasons why. There have been smarter, stronger and better-looking men than me who are no longer alive.”

After the war, Kristal started over by moving to Israel and opening a confectioner’s shop. He later remarried and had two children.